I just want to hear girls talk

This world is so fucked up these days, I get really sad sometimes. The Middle East is going up in flames, and, let's face it, it's never ever going to get any better. Jews are getting killed by Hezbollah rockets. The Israelis, of course, have to respond, and, invariably, innocents in Lebanon are getting pummeled. Iraq is a fucking disaster. At home, New Orleans is still a toxic wasteland. The Republicans score cheap political points by bashing gays, chipping steadily away at a woman's right to choose, and shoving religion down our throats. The GOP-led Congress finally passes a raise in the minimum wage after a decade – but only after they slip in a poison pill so they can eliminate the estate tax for their multi-millionaire contributors.

And, perhaps worst of all, we've got a clown in the Oval Office for another two-and-a-half years.

So it's time to try to get away from all this nonsense for a couple of minutes (2:52 to be exact) and watch Dave Edmunds, one of the best of the second British Invasion, here with his band, Rockpile, doing a version of “Girls Talk,” written by another great Brit, Elvis Costello.

It''s just fun to watch these sort of goofy-looking limeys doing this on a rooftop somewhere (it's not identified in the video, but it looks like it may be here in the city, in the Rockefeller Center area, probably in the early 1980s?) and, damn, they knew how to churn out a hell of a catchy song in less than three minutes.

And Elvis C.'s wordplay is, as usual, great. He was so damn good with lyrics (and the music wasn't too shabby either). This little on-line clip doesn't do it justice, especially if you're at work and can't really crank up your computer speakers. But if you ever get a chance to hear this on a CD, pump it up and you'll feel instantly happier. And maybe even forget, for a couple of minutes at least, about being ruled by Bush and his band of cronies.

“You may not be an old-fashioned girl, but you're going to get dated.”